Steamed whole fish makes for a virtuously effortless dish with instant presentation points, especially when topped with a psychedelic melange of ginger, chiles, and herbs as is the River Fish Celebration in Naomi Duguid'sBurma. The whole snapper (or trout) is coated with a warming and floral paste of ginger, galangal, garlic, and lime before being tossed in a light broth spicy with chiles, cilantro, and even more ginger and garlic. More

She doesn't mention it in the recipe headnote, but Naomi Duguid'sKachin Pounded Beef with Herbs in her Burma must be a kissing cousin to Laos and Thailand's laab. Instead of hand-chopped meat that is tossed with spices, however, this Burmese version is pounded in a mortar and pestle, grinding the aromatics into gently simmered beef. The result is a meltingly tender bowl of fragrant beef with a texture akin to rillettes but with the taste of Southeast Asia. More

She doesn't mention it in the recipe headnote, but Naomi Duguid'sKachin Pounded Beef with Herbs in her Burma must be a kissing cousin to Laos and Thailand's laab. Instead of hand-chopped meat that is tossed with spices, however, this Burmese version is pounded in a mortar and pestle, grinding the aromatics into gently simmered beef. The result is a meltingly tender bowl of fragrant beef with a texture akin to rillettes but with the taste of Southeast Asia. More

At once sweet, tangy, earthy, and nutty, Susan Feniger's interpretation of a Burmese digestive snack in her "Street Food" is truly a knockout. Her recipe combines a blend of melons--watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew--with a potent mix of young ginger, sesame, and coconut. Next, the salad is then bulked up with blanched peanuts and strangely perfect green lentils and then dressed with a bit of sugar, soy sauce, and lime juice. It sounds like a crazy combination, but it works. More

Food fairs can't and shouldn't be judged solely for the merits of the food. If you go to a food fair expecting the same caliber and care as you'd find in a restaurant, then fie on you. Food fairs are first and foremost an eating sport rather than a sit-down meal. More

A cube of fatty pork belly and several hunks of tender pork shoulder first spend several hours in a marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil, and chili oil. The meat next undergoes a long braise in a syrup of caramel, garlic, ginger, and chili paste before it's ladled on a bed of steamed white rice. The dish gets a touch of Portland (or is that Portlandia?) with the addition of chopped egg pickled in honey, soy sauce, and star anise. A second egg draped over the pork to allow the yolk to spill over everything beneath it completes the stew and helps nudge it a little closer to the breakfast end of the meal spectrum. More

Burmese food does not enjoy the same popularity in this country as Thai or Indian food. Burma (or Myanmar) is situated directly in between India and Thailand, and the food at Cafe Mingala showcases the best of both cuisines: the freshness of Southeast Asia and the spices of the Indian subcontinent. More

"Poured over a bed of noodles, it's just as soothing but far more exciting than your average chicken noodle soup." [Photographs: Chichi Wang] Call it Myanmar; call it Burma. Nomenclature aside, relatively little is known about the cuisine of a... More